What Ever Happened to Netscape?

Back successful nan early days, nan net was a very different animal from what it is today. To most, it would beryllium unrecognizable, consisting chiefly of bulletin committee systems pinch nary multimedia, speech from a fewer low-res inline images. These systems were disparate and had to beryllium dialed into individually.

The net changed dramatically pinch nan advent of nan World Wide Web. All of those antecedently abstracted systems were connected, but nan world needed a measurement to "browse" them – a "web browser" was successful order.

The Web Browser is Born

In April 1994, Marc Andreessen and Jim Clark founded nan Mosaic Communications Corporation. Mosaic was nan sanction of a package that allowed users to entree various contented connected nan web. Andreessen had worked connected nan task while he was pinch nan National Center for Supercomputing Applications (NCSA) astatine nan University of Illinois.

Image: macintoshgarden.org

Clark, who had antecedently worked astatine Silicon Graphics, brought pinch him respective of his co-workers to activity connected Mosaic. Likewise, Andreessen tapped respective of his colleagues from nan NCSA to activity for nan company. By October 1994, nan squad had released Mosaic Netscape 0.9. In December, they renamed nan institution Netscape Communications and launched type 1.0 of Netscape Navigator.

As existent visionaries, Netscape founders understood that nan web browser would go a revolutionary instrumentality and group a important precedent. Navigator was made disposable for free to individual, world and investigation users.

"By making Netscape disposable free to individuals for individual use, nan institution builds connected nan contented of package products for nan Internet being offered free of charge." publication nan 1994 property release.

"Netscape is nan first Internet instrumentality that lets nan mean personification pinch a 14.4 kb modem activity pinch nan Internet interactively"

Commercial users were expected to acquisition licenses of nan browser astatine $99 per user, which included warranty and customer support, but that didn't past long. Likewise, you could find boxed versions of Netscape successful unit stores astatine immoderate constituent trading for $40 per copy.

Netscape's Rise to Power

For each applicable purposes, astatine nan clip Navigator was nan only publically disposable web browser, truthful it enjoyed a play of virtually zero competition.

On August 9, 1995, Netscape went nationalist pinch its IPO trading astatine $28 per share. The banal was expected to beryllium offered astatine $14 per share, but it was decided to double nan value astatine nan last-minute. During nan first time of trading, nan banal roseate to $75 per share, reaching a marketplace headdress of $3 billion, an unthinkable first-day gain. Netscape's IPO kickstarted wide finance successful net companies that later created nan dot-com bubble.

It was a magical time, location computers income were conscionable booming and if you were fortunate enough, your PC would travel equipped pinch a modem for dial-up Internet access. You would perceive the scrambling sound of your telephone statement connecting you to nan world. Launching Netscape and staring astatine nan throbber animation while a azygous web page loaded.

Above: Boeing.com successful 1997, erstwhile nan institution was showcasing their "next-generation" Boeing 737-700.
Below: Intel.com besides successful 1997, erstwhile Intel Pentium 150 Mhz CPUs were each nan rage. Images: Open University

The Browser Wars: Netscape vs. Internet Explorer

However, unbeknownst to anyone, Microsoft had been moving connected a browser of its own. Just days aft Netscape's first nationalist offering, it released Windows 95 on pinch Internet Explorer 1.0. The title was fierce arsenic nan 2 companies duked it retired complete nan adjacent year, pinch Microsoft ever 1 measurement behind.

That was until nan merchandise of Internet Explorer 3.0 successful August 1996. Microsoft had yet caught up to Netscape successful position of browser technology. Slowly, but surely, Redmond was stealing marketplace stock chiefly done nan pre-installation of Internet Explorer connected each Windows system.

Did you know? The JavaScript (JS) programming connection was calved astatine Netscape arsenic they attempted to adhd interactivity to web pages. JS first shipped pinch Navigator successful September 1995.

Netscape Navigator marketplace share: 1994 - 2007

Netscape continued processing some nan Navigator browser and Communicator, though nan bundling and sanction changes often confused users. In early 1998, nan institution announced plans to merchandise nan Communicator root code, which prompted nan statement of nan Mozilla project, an open-source endeavor that would later go Firefox.

Netscape's browser improvement slowed aft releasing its root code, but Microsoft didn't rest. By nan extremity of 1999, Microsoft had won nan mostly of nan market. This displacement successful browser penchant marked nan commencement of a agelong spiraling decease for Netscape (and yet Internet Explorer arsenic well).

By nan clip Internet Explorer 5.0 hit, it was clear Microsoft had developed nan superior browser. Websites were becoming much graphically intensive, net speeds were faster, but broadband was still a fewer years away. The Netscape browser was buggier, slower, and much prone to crashes successful comparison.

According to records of that time, Microsoft spent complete $100 cardinal each twelvemonth processing IE successful nan precocious 1990s, pinch complete 1000 group moving connected it.

Netscape Communicator 4.76 moving connected Windows

The Decline and Demise of Netscape

By 1998, nan erstwhile king of nan net was floundering. AOL, formerly known arsenic America Online, saw imaginable successful rescuing nan failing browser and shelled retired $4.2 cardinal successful a November 1998 buyout. However, nan opportunity was squandered.

Development connected nan Navigator/Communicator browser, which had now travel to beryllium called Netscape, was slow. Even pinch thief from nan advancements gained successful nan Mozilla project, AOL was incapable to merchandise Netscape 6 until 2000, putting it measurement down successful nan browser wars. For 2 much years, nan browser would struggle successful its last decease throes.

The browser wars were a show to spot during that first and a half decade. The chart beneath shows browser usage betwixt 1995 and 2010, and really Netscape went from power to complete irrelevance. Firefox was primitively named "Phoenix," arsenic it would emergence from Netscape's ashes aft it was killed disconnected by Microsoft.

In August 2002, Netscape 7 was released and that was nan opening of a agelong goodbye. The pursuing year, AOL closed nan Netscape section and laid disconnected astir of nan staff. Development continued for a mates much years utilizing advances successful nan Firefox root code, but thing important was released nether nan brand.

In 2005, AOL turned complete improvement duties to an extracurricular Canadian institution called Mercurial Communications. Mercurial released "Netscape Browser 8" successful May 2005. Several iterations occurred complete nan adjacent 2 years, pinch type 8.1.3 being nan past update Mercurial pushed retired successful April 2007.

Like nan mother who conscionable doesn't want to fto her kid tally disconnected to assemblage without 1 past buss goodbye, AOL picked up in-house improvement again. It rebranded nan browser backmost to Netscape Navigator and launched type 9 successful October 2007. AOL past continued support for only a fewer much months earlier it would yet fto it go.

On February 20, 2008, nan institution pushed nan very past loop of Netscape Navigator (version 9.0.0.6). The browser was officially discontinued and pinch nan assistance of immoderate devices you could migrate your information to Flock and Firefox for a while aft that.

Netscape 8.0 (above) and 9.0 (below)

For nan curious, Netscape Navigator 9 is still available connected nan web from various archives. However, support successful mind, this is not nan Navigator of yore. It's much aliases little a rebranded Firefox pinch a Netscape theme. The only things that separate it from nan browser it is based connected is nan "link pad," and mini browser recovered successful nan sidebar.

If you are much funny astir nan earlier builds and what it was for illustration to browse nan net successful nan "old days," OldVersion.com maintains an archive of unchangeable versions going all nan measurement back to Netscape 1.0, but cheque compatibility earlier attempting to instal thing that old.

Bonus Track

Listen to nan podcast beneath from July 2024, wherever Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz research nan untold communicative of Netscape successful their ain words. Marc shares his travel from his early life to processing Mosaic astatine nan University of Illinois, while Ben highlights nan fierce title and ineligible battles that followed Netscape's rise.

They besides talk nan broader implications of Netscape's success, nan value of an unfastened internet, and really those lessons resonate successful today's tech landscape, peculiarly pinch nan emergence of AI.